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Assistant Professor Kiwana McClung Wins ACSA Diversity Achievement Award

Assistant Professor Kiwana McClung has been selected as the American Collegiate Schools of Architecture Diversity Achievement Award Recipient.  This is a tremendous achievement that recognizes all of her hard work.  The ACSA Diversity Achievement Award recognizes the work of faculty, administrators, or students in creating effective methods and models to achieve greater diversity in curricula, school personnel, and student bodies, specifically to incorporate the participation and contributions of historically under-represented groups or contexts.

From Assistant Professor McClung’s Abstract titled ‘Efforts in Increasing Diversity, Inclusion and Retention of Minority Students in the ULL School of Architecture and Design':

There has been significant effort by the various architectural organizations to develop initiatives that increase diversity in the architecture profession. While scholarships and various other inclusion endeavors are essential to improving the numbers, the work of retaining and fostering young minority talent is usually done within schools of architecture. Having once been a minority architecture student myself, I understand the social dynamics and factors that can cause minority students to discontinue their architectural studies. Through my observations and efforts in the School of Architecture and Design at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, I have found that the induction of highly engaged minority architects into the profession can be achieved through a collective, continuous onslaught of recruitment visits, scholarly opportunities, advisement sessions, mentorship programs, and service activities.

Since her arrival at UL Lafayette, McClung has dedicated herself to mentorship of minority students in the School of Architecture and Design. She has initiated recruiting outreach to larger cities in Louisiana including Baton Rouge and New Orleans, and also in minority schools in Lafayette. She has also been an active advisor in the National Organization of Minority Architecture Students (NOMAS). Her efforts have quickly transformed this group into one of the most active student organizations in the SOAD. Under her mentorship, NOMAS members routinely take on extracurricular activities related to recruitment and retention of minority students, as well as pro-bono design projects like the New Iberia Rabies and Animal Control Shelter Renovation Project.

This March, McClung will be honored at the ACSA's 104th Annual Meeting in Seattle.

To read more about her tremendous achievements, visit the ACSA 2015-2016 Architectural Education Award Winners Page.

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